Leadership
by SGAFan
Summary: There were five addresses on Weir's list from Before I Sleep. We saw one. What about the other four? Gap filler story from between The Brotherhood and Letters from Pegasus.


_**Leadership**_

_**Gap filler between The Brotherhood**_

_**and Letters from Pegasus**_

John watched, the knot in his gut intensifying, as the Atlantis stargate hummed to life. One by one, the chevrons engaged, before a flush of energy surged towards him, establishing the wormhole.

He glanced at Elizabeth Weir, his expression guarded. "Here we go."

Weir pursed her lips and nodded. "Good luck."

"Our luck has to change sometime," John replied as he lifted his P-90. "Now is as good a time as any." He walked forward, his team close behind him, and crossed the event horizon.

John emerged from the wormhole and looked around, marveling at the tall, jagged remains of what only could've been, in its day, a magnificent structure. He turned, cocking an eyebrow at Rodney. "Anything?"

McKay punched a few buttons on his LSD and sighed. "Nothing I can tell from here. Some small energy readings, but nothing significant."

Fighting his disappointment, Sheppard scanned the ruins. "That doesn't mean it's not here."

"Major," Rodney's voice took on its common annoyance, "a Zed PM is the most powerful energy source known to us. These energy readings aren't even close to that level of power."

Sheppard pursed his lips in annoyance. "Okay, then why didn't we just accept that when the MALP sent back the same readings?"

"Because I wanted to see for myself," Rodney shot back. "In case you haven't noticed, this is the last address on Weir's list."

Sheppard's gaze was solemn as he stared at Rodney. "I know that." John looked up at the jagged remains of a tall spire. His eyes traced down it's length, stopping on several runes traversing its width. "Well, we're on the right track. Isn't that Ancient?"

Rodney stepped up next to him and eyed the writing. "Yes, its Ancient. This must be the outpost, Janus was referring to."

"That's a good sign," Sheppard responded.

"Yeah, right. Just like the rest of the addresses on Weir's note and oh look! We still don't have a Zed PM," McKay shot back.

"And whose fault is that? We had the Potentia," Sheppard stared hard at McKay.

"Well, if we wouldn't have so casually let a live Ancient just…leave us hanging, we'd be a lot better off right now than we are!" McKay met Sheppard's serious gaze with one of his own.

"We," Teyla broke in, "have all made some mistakes," she smiled tensely at both men, "arguing about them will not help our current problem."

John pulled in a deep breath and sighed. The stress of the past few days was definitely wearing on him. His gaze softened a little. "You're right, Teyla." He nodded slightly at McKay, who returned the gesture. Sheppard turned, carefully stepping through the rubble as he made his way into what was left of the Ancient outpost. "Come on, let's see if there is anything here that can help us."

Rodney followed behind Sheppard, as they ventured further into the ruins. "I don't believe it," McKay whispered as he quickly tapped a few keys on the LSD.

Sheppard halted and looked back. "What?"

McKay tore his eyes from the LSD and stared unbelieving at the Major. "The energy readings…they're getting stronger. Not much, but a definite increase."

John flipped on the light on his P-90 and scanned the room. "Where?"

Rodney pointed straight ahead. "That way." He walked up next to Sheppard, who led them further into the ruins.

Sheppard stepped over what was left of a large cylindrical column and through a wide doorway. He paused, looking around in amazement. The sunlight streamed through the wrecked ceiling, revealing what was once a large dome. The remains of intricate drawings and writings were scattered on the shell of the Ancient structure, and graced the surface of several pieces of rubble around them. So much of what was once there was gone, but it was evident to Sheppard that in its day the structure had been majestic. His gaze followed the walls and traveled downward, fixing on an object hidden in the shadows. "What…" John slowly crossed the room, McKay right behind him.

"The energy readings are getting stronger…oh wow." Rodney stopped next to Sheppard.

John reached out, his hand settling on the fractured, tall back of a Control Chair. Pieces of a large column lay across and around the chair, and one armrest of the Ancient device lay at Sheppard's feet. Even in it's disintegrated state, John was still in awe of it.

"Took a hell of a hit, sir," Ford commented as he squatted by the remains of the armrest.

Sheppard glanced at McKay. "If there's a Control Chair here…"

"Then there had to have been a Zed PM to power it." Rodney finished as he started scanning the floor around them. "There should be an access panel around here, somewhere."

John nodded. He stared hard at McKay. "What kind of energy readings are you getting?"

Rodney sighed. "If you mean 'is it worth it to see if there is Zed PM here' then the answer is yes. The energy readings aren't really impressive, but worth checking out."

Sheppard nodded. "Okay, lets get some of this rubble out of the way. Teyla? Ford? Start on the other side of the chair, McKay and I will start here."

"Me?" Rodney squinted.

John rolled his eyes and arched an annoyed eyebrow at McKay.

"Right." Rodney stuffed the LSD in his vest and started pushing rubble out of the way.

"Sir!" Ford's voice grabbed John's attention after only a few minutes. "Over here."

Sheppard walked around the chair, while McKay came around the other side of it. John knelt and eyed a small circular panel imbedded in the floor.

"Coming through, thank you," Rodney pushed his way past Ford and knelt opposite of Sheppard. McKay pulled the LSD from his vest. Punching a couple buttons, he shook his head. "I'm still picking up energy readings, but they're not any stronger."

Sheppard nodded, his gaze never leaving the panel. He lifted a hand and slowly passed it low over the top of the panel.

Nothing happened at first, but after a moment, a quiet whine could be heard, before the panel slowly rose from the floor.

John's eyes widened as he stared at the faint amber glow on his hand.

"Oh yeah," Rodney whispered. He stared at the LSD. "It's not fully charged, that's why the readings were so low, but there is some energy left."

"Looks charged to me," Ford commented quietly.

"Oh excuse me, I foolishly forgot to get your opinion instead of using this," McKay waved the LSD emphatically. His gaze narrowed, "huh…the power levels are dropping."

John reached out, gently grabbing the exposed top of the ZPM. He pulled gently, but the ZPM didn't budge. "It's jammed."

"Power levels are still dropping," Rodney shook his head. "What the hell is going on?"

"Let's find out," Sheppard replied. He twisted the ZPM gently, satisfied as he felt the Ancient device move slightly. Lifting carefully, he removed the ZPM from the slot. "Damn it," Sheppard whispered. He watched, helplessly, as the soft glow of the ZPM faded, before going out completely. His gaze traveled down the device and fixed on the jagged bottom.

"Well, that explains it," Rodney shook his head and fingered the sharp edges.

While normally irregular, the edges of this ZPM were sharp and fractured, and a long wide crack ran up the center of the device.

John turned the ZPM over in his hands and sighed. He looked at McKay who glanced at the LSD before gazing back at John. The doctor slowly shook his head.

"Nothing. The power readings are gone. It's dead."

John pursed his lips. "Did I…"

"No," Rodney interrupted. "Zed PM's are stronger than they look. You didn't break it." He looked around. "Probably an earthquake or something. Most likely, the same event that destroyed the chair damaged the Zed PM too."

Sheppard carefully laid the ZPM next to the open panel and stood. Trying to keep the frustration from his expression, John looked up, allowing the narrow beams of sunlight to warm his face. They'd had so much hope when the purpose of Weir's note had been revealed. Five addresses, each of them Ancient outposts…each of them with a ZPM. How could they come up empty handed? He pursed his lips. Technically, they hadn't come up completely empty handed, but the "Potentia" was still lost to them. The other three addresses had been dead ends. Maybe, ten thousand years ago, there had been ZPM's at those outposts, but they were long gone. Destroyed or taken, there was no way to know. This had been their last chance…their last hope. To watch the ZPM fade and die in his hands frustrated John. It spawned a dark cloud of helplessness within him and right now, it was all John could do to keep any hope at all. Only a few weeks away, the Wraith were coming, ready to make their bid to take the city. Atlantis was going to need every advantage it could get to stave off the Wraith's attack. Without a ZPM…or the shield it powered, the city was remarkably vulnerable, and right now, John felt every bit of that vulnerability.

"Sir?"

Ford's questioning voice snapped Sheppard from his gloom. He nodded slightly at the Lieutenant. Giving one last, long, look at the destroyed ZPM, Sheppard stepped down off the chair platform. "Let's go." He glanced at McKay who joined him.

"That's it then," Rodney walked along next to Sheppard. "No Zed PM."

"Nope," John's reply was short and terse. He set a quick pace back through the ruins towards the Stargate.

"We're so screwed," McKay answered quietly.

Sheppard stopped in his tracks. His first impulse had been to agree, but something stopped him…kept him from voicing his agreement. He stared hard at McKay, his gaze searching.

The doctor's expression held all the usual elements of annoyance and arrogance, sprinkled with hints of irritation, but beyond that, a sense of pessimism, even more than Rodney normally held, stood out clearly to John's penetrating gaze.

John sucked in a deep breath, his character winning over. Never in his life had John ever given up on anything, and he wasn't about to start now. He'd given in to a moment of despair, but that just wasn't his style. Tenacity, almost to the point of stubbornness, was something John had in spades, Some people would call him bull headed at times, but that same resolve had gotten him out of a lot of tight spots. Confidence rang true in John's expression as he smothered the feelings of hopelessness under the strong fire of courage…the strength of his character…the unwavering directness of his moral compass. "We're not screwed." A challenging smile slowly formed on his face. "We just don't get to take the easy way out, that's all. We'll have to find some other way." He arched an eyebrow at Rodney. "Unless you're not up to it."

McKay's gaze narrowed. He slowly lifted his chin, arrogance once again dominating his features. "Is that a challenge, Major?"

"You're damn right it is." Sheppard immediately replied.

Rodney stared evenly back for a moment, before turning and once more heading for the gate. "Are you coming or not? I have things to do." Never looking back, Rodney continued walking away.

John glanced at Teyla, who gave him a knowing look. Slowly, she smiled and nodded slightly at him, before walking after McKay.

John smiled at Ford who walked along next to him as they both followed behind Teyla and McKay.

"Sir?" Ford's voice was questioning.

Sheppard's smile lingered as he picked his way through the rubble. "We're going to be okay, Ford." He nodded as Ford's face broke into a large toothy grin.

"Yes, sir."

_Author's Notes:_

_It's always bugged me that there were 5 addresses on Weir's note and we only really know what happened on one of the planets. What about the other four? ;)_

_As usual, I don't claim ownership to anything Stargate, I just borrow it once in a while when my muse comes out to play. ;)_

_SGAFan_


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